The vertical gravity/buoyancy power generator relates to the generation of power by harnessing the gravitational and buoyant forces which act on an apparatus in a liquid medium and converting such forces into mechanical energy. There exists a profound and continued interest around the world in the development of alternative energy from sources that are renewable and do not deplete resources or pollute the environment. Further, in the United States and many net oil importing countries, there is a need to develop and harness local energy resources to reduce dependence on foreign sources of energy, namely oil.
As a consequence, alternative energy exploration and development proceeds apace to harness energy produced by wind, solar, bioenergy, geothermal, and wave/tidal to name the most scrutinized. Providing a reasonable, steady, continuous and sufficient energy from these sources mostly focuses on their use for generating electricity. However, there are issues with each of these alternative energy sources not the least of which is scalability, efficiency, cost, aesthetics, weather, location and day to day variances in local environments.
Present alternative energy problems solutions include planned: large scale wind farms which cost billions of dollars utilizing thousands of acres and stand still on windless days; huge solar panel arrays, whether for electricity or heat that remain ineffective on cloudy or cool days; bioenergy, with ethanol as an example, does not truly result in a net carbon return and is considered a contributor to driving up global food costs, and geothermal installations which can take years to test and develop with no guarantee of successful energy production.
The concept of energy production from water sources and/or buoyancy dates back to the earliest waterwheels and further back to Archimedes exclaiming “Eureka” when finding a method to define principles of buoyancy. However, as will be shown in the Description of Prior Art, not until now has energy production from gravity and buoyancy, acting through an appropriate apparatus, been effectively rendered viable.
Gravity and buoyancy are the essential scientific principles at stake in the vertical gravity/buoyancy power generator. A body in a liquid medium which has a greater density than the liquid it displaces will sink in that medium. Conversely one with a lesser density will rise. For the sake of example, a gallon of common fresh water at a normal temperature, at sea level, has a mass of 8.34 pounds and a volume of 231 cubic inches. Therefore, combining these two concepts, an object which has a mass of say 10 pounds, with a volume of 231 cubic inches will sink in the referenced liquid medium as it is denser than the liquid is displaces and the force of gravity “pulls” it downward. An object which occupies 231 cubic inches with a mass of say 7 pounds will rise in the liquid medium as it is less dense than the liquid it displaces and the buoyant force will “push” it through the liquid medium. Therefore it is not the “weight” of the buckets or pods or containers which must change to be acted on by gravity or buoyancy but their density relative to the liquid medium which must become greater and lesser in the sinking and rising phases.
The vertical gravity/buoyancy power generator utilizes both of these principles by configuring weighted containers which have the purposely designed capacity to have a much greater density than the liquid they displace on the downward, sinking, or gravity phase and a much lower density than the liquid they displace on the upward, rising or buoyant phase. Of particular note, the vertical gravity/buoyancy power generator efficiently utilizes containers which are purposely designed to have a greater density than the liquid they displace and pass through the liquid medium—as the liquid medium passes through them—with minimal friction. As a result, the plurality of the containers, in total, produces a significant amount of power during their descent phase.
The vertical gravity/buoyancy power generator does not require the sun, wind, monopolize massive tracts of land or sea, or redirect scarce food resources. It can operate in almost any environment, can be located directly in the path of existing power grids, can generate distributed electricity for localized consumption, is not offensive to the eye or local environment and can operate around the clock, day and night without fluctuating output or unreliable operation as is the case with both wind and solar power.